Australia – The Driest Continent

Australia’s rainfall is the lowest of the continents (excluding Antarctica). This low rainfall combined with very high evaporation leads to low river flows. Despite this, Australia has one of the highest per capita water consumption rates in the world.

Since 1939 restrictions have been applied in metropolitan Melbourne on 15 separate occasions to conserve water during drought. Drought is a natural occurrence that we must plan for and respect – we need to manage our water resources with utmost care. When it comes to resource planning, we need to increasingly look for innovative ways of doing more with less.

While two thirds of all the people on Earth use less than 60 litres of water a day the average Australian uses more than twice that amount during a single shower. In fact, Australians are among the biggest users of water in the world, especially around the home.